The expense, which includes salaries, bonuses, benefits and deferred awards from previous years, advanced to $12.9bn for the year from $12.2bn in 2011, the New York-based company said Wednesday in a statement. The cost amounted to 38% of revenue, compared with 42% a year earlier.

The pay expense averages $399,506 per employee, up from $367,057 in 2011.